The Novelty of Flat 4C
by ScarlettStorm
Summary: When Ivy moves to Pasadena, she realises that starting afresh has a whole host of possibilities. Meeting friends, and falling in love are part of the package of being the novelty in the apartment block.


Chapter 1

"_Home is not where you live, but where they understand you__"_

It is not until you pack up your life and move, that you realise how little you possess. After tentatively driving the 519.36 miles from Reno, to Pasadena, I arrived at the apartment block in high spirits. My audio disc of Austen's classics was a good buy, and had kept me entertained as I travelled the long distance. I shouldn't have played safe and opted for the bigger size vehicle. I would have struggled to fill a boot half as big with the contents of my life.

However, I found a plus side to having few belongings- mainly unpacking. It took less than an hour to vacate the van, and drag the heavy cardboard boxes into the apartment lobby. "Bloody typical," I muttered, noticing the elevator was out of order. I'd have to drag my boxes to the fourth floor then. It was a good start, and I pondered the best way to execute this. It was a tossup between kicking each box up to get the levitation to reach the midpoint, at the corner, but in the process my microwave, the box, and my foot would have been broken. And to be honest, I didn't have the lower body strength to perform that impressive move anyway. The other option was taking each box up to the fourth floor, up eight separate flights of stairs, and in the process praying to the powers that be no disgusting rascal come and steal the books I leave unattended. Either way, I was jinxed by recognising the negative side.

"Could that be an amplifier? It feel's heavy enough to qualify as one. Maybe we should make a formal protest against the use of such device, Leonard?" I skipped the third stairs down, standing at the top of the last flight. A tall, slender man, with short, dark brown hair was glaring oddly at a squatter companion, who had glasses, and wasn't holding a box. The former shook the cube vigorously, before placing it back on the pile; I perched myself on the seat to watch this odd charade. I would never own an amplifier, and in fact the box he was shaking held my beloved book carriage case, an antique from my grandmother. Lucky for him, it was robust enough to take the attack. If I'm honest, I couldn't interrupt them. They were having so much fun, obviously, and I had nothing to hide. Plus, it was amusing how different they were to each other. The taller man was attractive enough, in an educated, and unique way- he was individual. His physical appearance, was as first impressions went, a striking one. His blue eyes darted quickly over the load like a snake over a buffet of prey, and his wiry build was pleasing to the eye. His friend was more relaxed, and his general appearance reflected this.

"I don't think we should be playing with her stuff, Sheldon."

"We did with Penny, and she didn't mind." The man I presumed was Sheldon answered simply, picking another box up, and weighing it mentally. "Too light to be anything substantial."- he seemed to be making mental notes. This box didn't hold his attention, so he moved on. "In fact, it must have you done you favours, as you're engaged in amorous activities with her now."

"No, no, I don't think that helped at all." His friend shook his head, before gesturing up the stairs, noticing me in the process. He looked twice, obviously not recognizing me.

"Hello?"

I felt my face flush, and stood up to compose myself. "Hello to you too! I'm Ivy, and FYI, that's my stuff you're rummaging through. Did you find anything interesting perchance?"

I watched in glee at the reaction. It was hilarious how both men instantly stopped taking interest in my belongings, all attention on me. Not that I liked it, in fact, quite the opposite. I stomped my way down, my sturdy leather boots echoing off the wall. I was tiny, and I realised before I even reached the bottom, that the two were going to tower over me. Even the short one, whose name I still didn't know. Jumping off the last step, I shuffled over to my boxes, picking up my books, and cradled them.

"In any case that you may be interested, that amplifier is full of books. You would have heard that if you changed the angle you rattled at."

I didn't know what had come over me. Normally I was quiet, but I felt more confident, knowing they didn't know me, and had no backlog of history to judge me by.

"I'm sorry, Sheldon doesn't like change, and we hadn't known 4c was being let. We didn't have time to ease him into the idea. And he's nosey. I'm Leonard, and this is Sheldon."

"Dr. Sheldon Cooper." Sheldon piped in, "I wouldn't want her to think I'm of less than average intelligence."

I laughed quietly, "Oh, well, you've definitely disproved that. Well, I'm sorry to take liberties, because y'know, we only just met, even though technically I've known you exist longer, as I was committing voyeurism. Anyway, I need help lugging these boxes up and I need some strapping young men to help, or just whatever's available really."

It took me two seconds to work out that it would not work. Still, they were intriguing and intellectual. I learnt they both were working in the Physics field, that Sheldon's IQ was higher, but he had no social skills, that Leonard was in a relationship with Penny, and that they were on the same level as me. This was handy, as they obviously were geniuses, and my concept of electricity was zilch. Wormholes, String Theory, and aliens, I knew and loved, but useful applications failed to administer in my brain. I enjoyed their company, and when the last box was placed in my small apartment, Leonard turned to me: "Tonight's Halo night, Howard and Raj can't make it, so we'd be happy to have you; we need to make up the numbers anyway.

Shit. I had wanted a quiet night in, but I couldn't say that. I wouldn't want to upset them already. You can't be picky if you're a beggar.

Sheldon looked shocked. "Leonard, think about what you're saying. Not only have you invited Penny whose grasp on the game is vague, and who will cripple her potential partner, but now you endure me to spend time with a woman whose levels of natural ability at gaming, I have not yet gathered."

How bloody offensive! "It's OK, I won't ruin your night, and I've got to fix this place up anyway. I've got a couple of things to plan for work tomorrow anyway." I pointed at the door, "Please, go, you rumbled me! I am rubbish at games."

I wouldn't have wanted to spend time with them anyway. I wasn't the type to force my company where it wasn't unwanted, and I wasn't lying, I did have things to do. Honesty is the best policy I guess.


End file.
